Chapter 1.

 

Demetri unwrapped the towel from his head, and turned around. His face relaxed as he looked in the mirror. He didn't smile but his reflection made him want to. His new brown hair spiked up in all directions, as if he had just woken up. His pale eyes seems invisible as the morning light peered through his plastic shades in his bathroom.

He put his hands on the counter and looked at himself tiredly in the mirror. He washed his face in the coldest water he could.

I wonder what she's doing right now.

Demetri shook his head at the thought of her. He couldn't. He just couldn't. He couldn't fall into the trap again.

He heard his front door open and shut loudly. He walked out of his bathroom, ad saw his sister Reggie looking disgustingly at his apartment.

"What?"

Reggie jumped as he spoke to her. She walked across the room as if there were dead rats everywhere she stepped.

"Nice greeting for your sister," she sighed angrily. He blinked slowly and hugged her. She hugged him back tightly.

"Ma told me what happened. I'm so sorry." she whispered.

"Just because it happened doesn't mean you're a hobo now. I'll clean the apartment for you, okay?" Demetri nodded as they let go. He wiped his face as he knew tears spilled onto his cheeks. She touched his face with both hands as more tears ran down his face.

"You're going to be fine. Just relax for a couple days. I'll come by every day to check on you."

Demetri looked down at his feet.

"Hey," she whispered, pulling his face up. "You're not pathetic."

Reggie patted his shoulder as he watched her start to pick up things. He watched her for while in silence. He sighed heavily, and started to help her pick up. She stopped suddenly after staring at him for a while.

"What the hell did you do to your hair?"

Demetri looked up at her. The corners of his mouth tugged into a weak smile.

"Took you a while to notice. That's why you're blond and I'm brunette now."

She chuckled softly and continued to pick up his dirty clothes that lay thrown everywhere. She stopped, grabbed a couple tissues and picked up his dirty boxer shorts.

 

 

Josiah stroked Dani's hair, her head on his legs, as she cried onto his jeans. She mumbled against his thighs, but he couldn't understand a word she blubbered out. He shushed her softly as she sat up. Her makeup had leaked down her face with her tears, and he wiped some off of her cheek.

"He didn't mean it. Okay?"

Dani nodded.

"Yes, he did! He didn't apologize for saying it! And when he did say it, he stormed out, and didn't even look at me!"

Josiah sighed, and wiped more tears from her face "He was probably too ashamed of himself to look at you! Trust me. By tomorrow, he'll call you, and apologize."

Dani blubbered and gasped for a couple minutes.

"You really think so?"

Josiah nodded. He held out his arms, and she flopped into his shoulder. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and calmly cried into his shoulder.

 

Josiah found Dani sleeping against his shoulder, after her arms had fallen to her side. He got up carefully and lay her down on the couch softly. He started picking up the piles of beer cans.

Josiah had never seen his best friend so upset, and he really wanted to kick Demetri's a*s for making her cry that hard. Demetri and Dani had been dating for a year and a half before their fight, and everyone guaranteed that they would be together a lot longer.

 

 

 

Demetri threw an empty beer bottle at the wall angrily. He ran his fingers through his blond hair, and turned away from her. Tears stung her dark eyes, as she crossed her arms.

"I hate you," he whispered, but loud enough for Dani to hear him. Her face scrunched up. She hated that phrase. She suddenly wanted to hurt him, punch him, make him feel the pain that she was feeling.

"You hate me?! There's nothing I did to you to make you hate me! What if I hate you. What about then? What would you say?"

Demetri turned around to her as a reflex. His light eyes were dark with fury as he charged toward her. His fists were stuck to his side, so he wouldn't dare hit her. His voice was louder than he wanted since he was only five inches from her, but he kept his voice raised.

"I would say 'good'! I don't want you to love me anymore! You don't deserve me!" he shouted in her face, debris coming out of his mouth. She wiped her face of his spit, and stepped closer to him, her face an inch from his. More tears blurred her vision as his rough breath was against her face.

"What does that mean?" she spat. Demetri furrowed his eyebrows more.

"You'll never be beautiful." he whispered, intensely.

The tears spilled down her cheeks, as he turned her back to him, and slammed her front door as he stormed out. She collapsed onto her knees, and buried her face into her hands. She screamed into her palms, even though the pain didn't escape her body.

 

 

 Kyle peered at Cody through her bangs and watched him read his book. He was so cute when he concentrated.

"Do you think they'll get back together?"

Kyle sipped her coffee, and Cody looked up at her. He shrugged.

"Probably not. What he said to her was pretty harsh."

Cody looked around at the cafes details. He soaked in the coziness and warmth of it as snow started to fall outside. Kyle stirred her coffee with her straw, and crossed her legs.

"I think she'll seduce him, and he'll fall for her, and this whole thing will be repeated."

Cody cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not like Dani is a w***e," he chuckled, taking a long drink from his coffee. He closed his book, and looked at her again.

"You want to put money on it?"

Kyle looked at him surprised.

"Yeah. Let's make it interesting. Let's say a hundred bucks says that in three months from today they'll be together again."

Cody nodded, and Kyle took a pen and pocket calendar out of her purse, and wrote it down.

"So it will be February twenty-first next year."

They shook hands and both drank from their cups. The door to the cafe opened and Josiah walked in, his black coat wrapped tightly around him.

"Josiah! Over here!" Kyle called, waving a hand at him. He trotted over and smiled at them. He rubed his hands together to get warmth in them. He sat next to Kyle and took off his jacket. He folded his hands on the marble table, as Kyle rotated her mug slowly.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Kyle locked eyes with Cody. Josiah looked back and forth betweeen them.

"We're you guys talking about me?"

They both shook their head.

"Dani and Demetri?"

They both nodded.

"So, I went over to Dani's today, and she's crying her eyes out. When I left, she was asleep on the couch. She's doing really bad. She thinks that Demetri meant what he said."

Kyle and Cody looked at each other.

"Well," Cody sighed, "We think that he did mean what he said."

Josiah looked at them blankly. He shook his head.

"He couldn't have. If he did, I'm gonna march right over there and kick his a*s."

Kyle and Cody both looked at him, eyes wide and eyebrows up.

"What? Catholic boys swear too. Just because I use to wear a uniform doesn't mean I can't be like you guys. I'm a fun guy."

Kyle smiled at him, and winked at him.

"Are you a naughty guy?"

Cody laughed. All three of them knew Josiah was a virgin. He didn't really care either. He didn't care who he would lose it to either. He just never had the chance. He thought no girl wanted a beaky nosed boy with a scrawny body.

Josiah's dark eyes scanned her face and smiled at her. They all laughed in unison and some people looked at then, annoyed. Kyle looked at her cell phone, and started to put on her mustard yellow coat.

"Where you goin'?" Cody asked, opening his book back up. Kyle sighed, tightening her coat around her.

"I'm going over to Demetri's. He's probably a wreck."